Bishop Odoki Ordains 12 New Priests, 3 Deacons
Bishop Odoki while welcoming each of the new Priests to Arua Catholic Diocese with a hug on Saturday.
ARUA. Rt. Rev. Sabino Ocan Odoki, the Bishop of Arua Catholic Diocese, has ordained a total of 12 Deacons into Priesthood and 3 Seminarians into Deacons.
This was during a colorful function graced by showers of rain at Ediofe Cathedral on Saturday July 27, 2024.
The Seminarians turned into Deacon are; Dn. Charles Alule, Dn. Jimmy Ayiko and Dn, Pius Kafeero meanwhile the Deacons who were ordained into Priesthood include; Rev. Fr. Eliaza Wadri, Rev. Fr. Denis Ochen, Rev. Fr. Innocent Akile Drille, Rev. Fr. Gilbert Orodriyo and Rev. Fr. Gilbert Obira.
Others are; Rev. Fr. Isaac Osoa, Rev. Fr. Moses Andama, Rev. Fr. Pax Driwale, Rev. Fr. Marvyn Adriko, Rev. Gilbert Ogala, Rev. Fr. Vincent Adiga and Rev. Fr. Alex Chandiga.
In his homily, Bishop Odoki urged the new Priests to be close to their God, the Bishop, fellow Priests and the people of God if they are to succeed in their priesthood.
“We have four traits or characteristics that you must always keep in mind. The first one is to always be close to God. A Priest who is not close to God, I’m sure cannot be a true Priest, he will be a fake Priest. Closeness to God is seen in prayer, closeness to God is seen in celebration of Sacrament even if other sacraments are not celebrated every day, but the Eucharist, you can celebrate it every day,” Odoki advised.
“Closeness to God is also realized when you nourish yourself with the word of God. When you are being ordained as a Deacon, you get a Bible, a sign that you have to nourish your life with the word of God. That brings you closer to God. Closeness to God also comes when you always seek a life of communion with God, with self and with the people of God. So, closeness to God is the first thing that will help you to be a true Priest,” Odoki told the new Priests.
He emphasized that without closeness to God, one can’t be a Priest in any way, adding that people can see you as a Priest when inside you, there is actually no Priesthood.
“The second characteristic that the Holy Father insists on, a Priest must have closeness to the bishop. The bishop represents the Church in entirety, so if you want to function well as a Priest, you have to be close to your bishop. He is the one that is mandating you, so the Holy Father insists on the closeness to the bishop in whatever Diocese,” Odoki said.
He also said that without closeness to the bishop, one becomes a failed Priest because as a Priest, you can’t function without the bishop. As a result, Odoki called upon the new Priests to be close to the bishop so as to preserve the unity of the Church.
“The Holy Father insists that Priests must be close to fellow Priests. Sometimes you never see Priests in the company of fellow Priests but always in company of some other people. Please come for meetings, they are not there, they will say they are going for funerals. Keep always to be close to fellow Priests, where you hear Priests are gathering, that is where you should be and your priesthood will grow very well and when you are in the company of fellow priests, the chance is that you will always be in the right way,” Odoki remarked.
Odoki noted that Priests who always seek the company of other people who are not Priests shall be lured to their own way of life and later, it will be too late for such a Priest.
“And finally, the Holy Father says to function well as a Priest, you have to be close to the people of God. That is where you go to do your work as a Minister of the Church; going out to pray, celebrate mass in Chapels, out stations and so on. And all Priests I ordain, I always labour to get for them a mass kit that you can carry with you so that whenever people need a mass, you can celebrate the mass. So, closeness to the people in proclaiming the word of God, closeness to the people in celebrating sacraments, closeness to the people in guiding them in the way of the Church will make you a good Priest,” Odoki emphasized.
The bishop later appealed to Christians and the people of good will to continue supporting the priests during their pastoral work in the community. He said in the Catholic Church, the Ministers of the Church are not entitled to salary because their service is voluntary and free and for that reason, it is the people who support them.
Anet Alioru, a relative to one of the newly ordained Priests, expressed happiness upon the ordination of the Priests and urged them to take the bishop’s advice seriously so as to succeed in their pastoral work.
Alioru who is also a Christian from Oluko Catholic Parish said as Christians, they should continue identifying and mentoring more children to become Priests to serve the Lord like her brother, Rev. Fr. Alex Chandiga.
Bishop Odoki later appointed and posited the new Priests to their duty stations to start serving with immediate effect.
He appointed Fr. Pax Driwale as the Curate of Vurra Parish, Fr. Moses Andama as the Curate of Kamaka Parish, Fr. Eliaza Wadri as the Curate of Oriajini Parish and Fr. Denis Ochen as the first Curate of Indriani.
Fr. Gilbert Orodriyo was appointed and posted to Lima Parish as a Curate, Fr. Innocent Akile Drile was posted to Ediofe Cathedral Parish as a curate, Fr. Isaac Osoa is now the new Curate of Arivu Parish, Fr. Marvyn Adriko as the Curate of Metu Parish, Fr. Gilbert Obira as the Curate of Dufile Parish and Fr. Gilbert Ogala as the second Curate of the Indriani Pilgrimage among others.